Author: photog

It’s Her Turn. …  Again.

photog Current Events ,

Ah, the joy of virtuous living.  Today I spent the morning (well, a good chunk of it) reviewing the novel and my notes on the shortcomings of the present outline.  And shockingly, it wasn’t painful at all.  In fact, it was refreshing to be making some progress and making some concrete changes at last.  And sometimes, all it took was a sentence or two over here and maybe a word or two over there.  Yes, very gratifying.  This program is the way to go.

So having done my duty as a serious-minded slave in the salt mines of literature, I can turn my attention to my other vocation.  What do I want to talk about today?

Well, apparently the FBI has discovered that some people expect them to do something to prevent terrorism and failing that, arrest the terrorists and maybe prevent the next terrorist from following in their footsteps.  Well, apparently the biggest mistake is to jump to conclusions; like terrorists could be motivated by radical Islam.  Here we are in 2025 and that outdated post-9/11 islamophobia still exists!  Crazy! Right?

Well, between the anarchists killing CEOs and the Islamists killing whoever they can find grouped in one place, it looks to be a busy time for the new administration.  But honestly, the solution to these problems is the same as for our other problems; shut the borders and deport the crazies and criminals as soon as possible.  Luckily, I think Trump knows that.  If this was Bush or even Obama, they would be asking the Pentagon and the State department which countries to bomb and which regime to color revolution out of power.

I read several leftists bemoaning the fact that the powers that be in the Democrat party don’t think they should change the strategies they used in the 2024 campaign.  Apparently, identity politics is so baked into the coalition and its leaders that “throwing trans people under the bus” is unthinkable.  And apparently so is reducing crime in the cities.  That idea has been declared white supremacist.  Now that’s what I call true believing!

And finally, polls are appearing that show Kamala Harris ahead of JD Vance for the 2028 presidential election.  This is so exciting.  I feel that the Republicans should support this direction with everything they have.  As much money as can be raised should be poured into convincing the Democrat voters that Kamala is the one; the new Obama.  They should stress that she only had a hundred days to get the people on board the Kamala train.  Now they have fifteen times that much to build the wave that will sweep her into the White House.  After all, look at Trump.  He lost in 2020 and still managed the 2024 win.  Just think of what fifteen hundred days of Kamala’s unencumbered futures, yellow school buses and Venn diagrams speeches would do to the American voters’ opinions.  I feel sure they will get to know exactly how smart and sensible she truly is.  But I’m going all out.  Maybe I’ll even switch parties to support her in the primary.  Whatever it takes, I’ll be there, Kamala.  It’s her turn!  Again!

03JAN2025 – Quote of the Day

photog Quote of the Day ,

[Isaiah’s Job; The Atlantic Monthly (June 1936) (Part 10)]

Isaiah, on the other hand, worked under no such disabilities. He preached to the masses only in the sense that he preached publicly. Anyone who liked might listen; anyone who liked might pass by. He knew that the Remnant would listen; and knowing also that nothing was to be expected of the masses under any circumstances, he made no specific appeal to them, did not accommodate his message to their measure in any way, and did not care two straws whether they heeded it or not. As a modern publisher might put it, he was not worrying about circulation or about advertising. Hence, with all such obsessions quite out of the way, he was in a position to do his level best, without fear or favour, and answerable only to his august Boss.

Albert Jay Nock

New Year’s Resolutions – 2025

photog Current Events, Life in Dunwich, My Fiction, OCF, photog's Corner, Trump ,

At this dawning of the rolling year, it is more than normally desirable that we make some slight provision for improving our behavior.  Some people try to lose weight or stop smoking.  Others look for a better job or start a hobby.  I’ve vowed to finish my book.  And to accommodate that effort I will be clearing the mornings for writing and editing the book.  This may impact my posting schedule (from time to time) but I think it’s necessary.  Time slips by too quickly if there are too many competing priorities.

Now I don’t intend to abandon the website.  OCF will have its daily photo and quote.  And whenever something needs my approbation, scorn or explanation I will promptly respond.  And I will link to anything that I think interesting or thought-provoking.  But when there’s a slow news week and I’ve already gassed off about the usual suspects I may just take a pass.  On days like that maybe I’ll link to a song I like or a clip from a movie that makes me smile.

And from time to time, I’ll put up a chunk of my story to get feedback from the readers here.  And I’ll write about writing sometimes!

So, none of this is dire.  With Trump entering the White House in a couple of weeks I’m sure I’ll have all kinds of stimuli for posts that will make it impossible to do my fiction writing work.  After all, the world is drifting into troubled times and that is sure to goad me into taking to my little soap box and barking out condemnations and propounding simple-minded plans of action.

But I do see that I’ll have to prioritize writing if I ever hope to finish that darn book.  I do think there is some writing in me.  And I won’t know how hard or easy selling books is until I give it a good old American try.

As for the news today, we’ve all been watching the attack in New Orleans and then listened to Biden try to string a few dozen sentences together without sounding like Max Headroom (and failing).  I love how he tells us the guy is a follower of ISIS but not to jump to conclusions.  So, because he’s a Moslem whose parents came from the Middle East and he’s declared jihad on America we shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that he’s an Islamic terrorist?  Would that be insensitive to the various followers of the religion of peace?  Well, never mind.  Biden is so laughably irrelevant that he might as well have started to read from a Dr. Seuss book as the words of that speech his handlers handed him.  More interesting would have been a statement from Trump advising the federal law enforcement agents not to destroy any of the evidence before his team has a chance to see what really went on.  Well, this is a small part of what I expect at the border for the foreseeable future.  So, it barely merits comment.  Let’s pray nothing bigger is in the wings.

 

And just to show that my heart is in the right place, I’ll put together a few things that might lighten your day.

 

 

02JAN2025 – Quote of the Day

photog Quote of the Day ,

[Isaiah’s Job; The Atlantic Monthly (June 1936) (Part 9)]

If, say, you are a preacher, you wish to attract as large a congregation as you can, which means an appeal to the masses; and this, in turn, means adapting the terms of your message to the order of intellect and character that the masses exhibit. If you are an educator, say with a college on your hands, you wish to get as many students as possible, and you whittle down your requirements accordingly. If a writer, you aim at getting many readers; if a publisher, many purchasers; if a philosopher, many disciples; if a reformer, many converts; if a musician, many auditors; and so on. But as we see on all sides, in the realization of these several desires, the prophetic message is so heavily adulterated with trivialities, in every instance, that its effect on the masses is merely to harden them in their sins. Meanwhile, the Remnant, aware of this adulteration and of the desires that prompt it, turn their backs on the prophet and will have nothing to do with him or his message.

Albert Jay Nock

Eeny Meeny Chilly Beany, the Spirits are About to Speak

photog Current Events, Trump , , ,

[It does not pay a prophet to be too specific.  –  L. Sprague de Camp]

Only a great fool would claim to know in advance how 2025 will end.  Everything from nuclear Armageddon to the return of the Prince of Peace is definitely on the table.  My radius of likely outcomes is slightly narrower (at least on the upside).  I could easily imagine things going very wrong between the United States and Russia or China or Iran in the foreseeable future.  And by wrong I don’t necessarily mean a full nuclear exchange with either of the first two of those nations.  There is plenty of room for low level violence and sabotage that could cause our lives to be much worse.  For instance, an aircraft carrier is becoming an increasingly vulnerable target to any number of new threats.  If a carrier were badly damaged or even sunk it might not lead to a nuclear exchange but it would cause a cascade of actions that will threaten war.

But let’s put war aside for a moment.  At least global war.  Let’s look at what will be going on in North America.  Trump intends to close the borders.  And that will both include Mexico and Canada.  This will change the way things are done in several aspects of life.  It will impact migration (obviously) but it will also impact industry.  A lot of stuff is built in Mexico and Canada.  The transportation of these products will be impacted.  And illegal importation (drugs, sex slaves) will also be impacted.  The Mexican and other gangs that control these illicit trades will have to be confronted head on in what will amount to a war on the southern border.  This alone could be the toughest thing Donald Trump will be faced with during his presidency.  He may have to live in a bunker due to the military capability of these gangs.  It’s a cinch their snipers are a lot more accurate than the ones the CIA found during the 2024 election.  Anyway, if he’s serious he’ll have his hands full with this action.

As for the economy, well, I think by default things will get somewhat better.  Just seeing the Greens pushed out of the White House will encourage the petroleum industry to improve the energy situation in the United States.  Who knows, maybe gasoline will fall below two dollars again.  And if that happens it will have a knock-on effect on the rest of the economy as transportation costs fall and with it the price of most commodities.  Now I wouldn’t exaggerate the extent of this.  Prices don’t usually fall except during a recession.  But if they stop going up it will begin to stanch the economic bleeding of the middle class.

Beyond that Trump can do a lot to encourage corporate on-shoring of manufacturing.  Tariffs can be of two varieties.  You can raise tariffs on the products of foreign companies or you can put tariffs on products that are manufactured outside of this country regardless of the nationality of the company that owns the factory.  This will encourage companies (foreign or domestic) to manufacture here the products they want to sell here.  Personally, if a Toyota car is built in Georgetown, Kentucky I consider it more American than a GM car built in Mexico or Canada.  So, will any of this happen?  Possibly not in 2025.

And finally, will he drain the swamp in 2025?  Well, not completely but he does want to put Kash Patel in charge of the FBI.  I read that they had him under investigation.  I don’t know much more about him than what I’ve read but wouldn’t it be amusing if it turns out he’s a vindictive bastard who took his own targeting personally and wanted a lot of payback.  I think there could be a lot of very amusing things going on in Washington this year.  And from my point of view that’s worth something in and of itself.

So those are just some hints at what might be going on.  Let’s hope it’s more swamp draining and less Armageddon but whatever else it’s going to be very busy and very exciting.

01JAN2025 – Quote of the Day

photog Quote of the Day ,

[Isaiah’s Job; The Atlantic Monthly (June 1936) (Part 8)]

If the modern spirit, whatever that may be, is disinclined towards taking the Lord’s word at its face value (as I hear is the case), we may observe that Isaiah’s testimony to the character of the masses has strong collateral support from respectable Gentile authority. Plato lived into the administration of Eubulus, when Athens was at the peak of its jazz-and-paper era, and he speaks of the Athenian masses with all Isaiah’s fervency, even comparing them to a herd of ravenous wild beasts.

Albert Jay Nock

A New Year’s Eve Look Back in Gob Smackedification

photog Current Events, Trump , , , ,

If 2024 had been the plot for a novel no one would have believed it.  The former president is running for the Republican nomination while under indictment in four separate cases in three separate jurisdictions.  He is found guilty in two of them even before the end of the primaries and every time a court case goes against him his popularity grows.  The incumbent Democratic candidate wins the primaries handily but drops out a hundred days before the election because he sounded like a talking turnip during the only debate.  The Democratic candidacy is handed over to the vice president because only she can legally use the multi-billion-dollar war chest but she also sounds like a talking turnip, albeit a slightly higher pitched one.  During the campaign the Republican candidate is put on open display by the secret service to not one but two snipers, one of whom misses a kill shot by fractions of an inch.

The media and the US government conspire to hide the incumbent president’s advanced dementia for his whole term in office, going so far as to claim he is actually some kind of political four-dimensional chess master while video evidence proves he’s forgotten how a door knob works.  When the election can’t even be stolen through massive blue city fraud the media claims that racism and misogyny are responsible despite the large gains the Republicans make among women and minority voters.  And as a parting absurdity the people in charge of the White House start rattling off thousands of blanket pardons including the president’s bag-man son who was already found guilty for various offenses large and small and whom the president had sworn he would never pardon.

And on the other side, the once and future Republican president has allied himself with a whole retinue of unlikely allies and future cabinet picks including the richest man in the world, a scion of the Kennedy clan and other heterodox individuals who would normally be anathema to a Republican administration.  And finally, the greatest absurdity of all is that this president-elect is someone like Donald Trump.  An almost cartoon character.  A caricature of the American huckster.  A modern-day P T Barnum.  But the only Republican to be honest about how the American political system is totally rigged against normal Americans.

And none of that even mentions incipient strains of World War III filtering out of the neo-con madness in Ukraine and with the Middle East in virtual flames as Gaza, Syria and Iran boil over in open war.  Just the other day the explosion of a weapons depot was so huge that some observers mistook it for a tactical nuclear weapon detonation.  And so, with just twenty days left before the end of the Biden presidency there seems to be no pause in the frenetic madness that has engulfed the world stage.

Looking back on this, stuns the mind.  To me this is the result of massive overreach.  When the Democrats unleashed George Floyd, COVID and election fraud in 2020 they pulled out all the stops and ran Washington like some private fiefdom.  And they brought in a collection of misfits and weirdos that couldn’t get out of their own way.  And so, they blew up the economy and unleashed actual stagflation.  They hid the stagnation part by putting everyone and his brother in government no-show jobs.  But the inflation was right out there for all to see and feel.  They tried to tell people that they shouldn’t believe their own lying eyes when looking at their empty wallets but instead bask in the glow of Bidenomics that was making them rich.  Of course, unless you’re an investment banker, tech entrepreneur or tenured Ivy League professor you probably don’t have a seven-figure 401K plan to offset the order of magnitude growth in the cost of housing and eggs but then again poor people should just shut up and vote Democrat.  Right?

So, as it turned out reality really is real.  And now the good(?) guys have their turn at bat.

I think I begin to understand how things speed up during these end of civilization events.  Once instability sets in, unbalanced parts of the system start to randomly knock into each other and catastrophic collapse is more or less inevitable.  Well, I guess this thing has to play out.  Perhaps 2025 will be a chance to do maintenance on the system and get it at least firing on an even number of cylinders.  Who knows?  Maybe Trump will turn out to be a Diocletian-like historical character who comes up with a patchwork solution to allow the empire to limp along for another century or two before complete collapse.

Well, there’s my annual pep talk.  Happy New Years and I’ll put together a look forward for tomorrow.